Getting It Off Your Chest
by Ninja Misao
Summary: A rough day at school makes Peter Parker dread going home. Lucky a certain philanthropist just happens to be in the neighborhood.


Avengers

Title: Getting It Off Your Chest  
Paring: Tony Stark/ Peter Parker  
Rating: T

* * *

Sitting in his last class of the day Peter Parker's eyes remained fixed on the clock. He chose to ignore the pink slip that was in his hand as he watched the hour hand finally hit three.

The moment the bell rang Peter knew his friend Ned would be outside the door waiting for him. But he didn't want to talk to him or anyone else for that matter. So the moment the teacher turned his head he slipped out of the window instead.

While the teens headed home from a long day at school Peter found himself laying under a tree with his bag beside him and the pink slip clenched in his hand.

A loud sigh escaped his lips as he looked though the branches and leaves at the various clouds in the sky. Soon the hairs on his arms tingled someone or something was near by, but right now he couldn't careless.

"Wow rough day at school?" A familiar voice asked.

Putting his arm over his eyes Peter remained quiet. The familiar voice sighed. Peaking out from under his arm he spotted a smiling Mr. Stark laying beside him.

Covering his eyes back up Peter sighed again but this time it was louder.

"Wow that bad huh." Tony said.

Tony's eyes narrowed when he spotted a pink piece of paper crumbled up in the kids hand.

"Ah pink paper is it a note from a girlfriend?" Tony asked.

"…No." Peter finally said.

"Hm a boyfriend? Hey I'm not judging but I am running out of ideas." Tony said sarcastically.

Normally Peter would crack a smile but this time he remained quiet. He felt awful and to make matters worse now his mentor was here. Taking a deep breath Peter knew Mr. Stark wouldn't stop asking so he finally answered his question.

"Suspension…two weeks." Peter hissed through his teeth.

"Oh…well that's not good…now here's the hard part care to tell me why?" Tony asked.

Tony sighed when the only answer he got was silence he then looked to Peter who was already up on his feet.

Peter refused to face his mentor for he knew what he did would be unacceptable. He could only imagine his aunt getting a phone call from the principal and how angry she is right now. No doubt she was waiting for him to come home which is the one place he really didn't want to be.

Breathing hard Peter clenched his fist even tighter he couldn't take it anymore.

Noticing the kids face looking a bit flushed Tony was surprised he had never seen him so upset before.

"Kid….hey calm down whatever happen its okay." Tony said with a hint of worry in his voice.

Tony tried to reach out to Peter only to have him smack his hand away. The kid's eyes held so much anguish that he wasn't sure what he should do next.

Both of them stood there neither one of them moving an inch. When Tony took a step forward Peter took two steps back. Shaking his head and wiping away his tears Peter took off running leaving a confused Tony in his wake.

Moments later Happy walked up and stood beside Tony.

"Trouble?" Happy asked.

"Maybe.." Tony replied.

"So what do we do now?" Happy asked.

"We wait." Tony replied.

Running is the only thing Peter Parker wanted to do right now. From hopping over parked cars, sliding in and out of alleyways to swinging from building to building. But it wasn't enough he needed to go further.

The sun steadily went down as Peter landed on top of one of the tallest buildings he could reach. Breathing hard he plopped down on the building top and stared up at the orange colored sky. He took another deep breath as a familiar Iron suit blocked his vision.

"Feeling better?" Tony asked.

"Surprisingly yeah I think I just needed to get away from there...sorry about before." Peter replied.

"Don't worry about it, so are you ready to tell me why you got suspended?" Tony asked.

"…I got into a fight with a bully named Rudy Jameson." Peter replied.

"Go on." Tony encouraged.

"Rudy bullied me my whole freshmen year, you name it he did it. From toilet swirlies, pushing me into lockers to leaving me hanging on the school pole by my boxers. Peter said followed with a sigh.

"Brutal…" Tony said.

"Yeah well when I became a sophomore he was gone. I was so happy I moved on and made friends. I finally thought that part of my life was over." Peter said happily.

"Now he's back." Tony chimed in.

"…That's when my whole world fell apart. When he returned he went back to bullying me and I did like I normally do ignored him. But I don't know what happen one day when he shoved me in the hallway I shoved him right back." Peter said bitterly.

Sitting beside him Tony took a deep breath, he noticed the kid's breathing increase as his hands started shaking. He wanted to say something but he decided to keep quiet and let him finish.

"That's when I saw it...all the things he did to me just floated to the surface. After that everything was pretty much a blur. When I finally came around Rudy was on the floor with a bloody nose and lip. I even remembered the countless cheers and applause from the other teens. But it was short lived for I was soon dragged away by a teacher. Now here I am with two weeks of suspension. It's strange... I know what I did was wrong but…it felt so right." Peter said confidently.

Tony nodded as he laid his hand on Peter's shoulder he turned to him unsure what his mentor would say.

"It always feels good to conquer someone who has made you feel useless. Yet I have to say this issue could of been dealt with differently. Next time speak up, keeping something like this to yourself will only harm you. Think of it like a bottle, if you put too much water in it will spill over and sometimes shatter. So kid if this happens again just call me, it doesn't hurt to get it off your chest." Tony finished.

"Your right I'll remember that next time, I better get home Aunt May is probably worried sick." Peter said as he rose to his feet.

Both mentor and student looked upon the full moon that glisten brightly in the night sky.

"Uh..yeah she was frantic ….in fact she's been listening to this whole conversation." Tony said.

Peter's eyes widen as Tony turned up the volume in his helmet.

"Peter I'm glad your okay, but honey we have a lot to talk about when you get home." Aunt May said over the receiver.

"Yes we do…I love you." Peter replied.

"I love you too." Aunt May said before hanging up.

"So…I take it you don't have any plans during your suspension?" Tony asked.

"I'll most likely be grounded... banned from even setting foot outside." Peter replied.

"I could pull some strings at Stark Industries and have you work on an upcoming project. At least until your suspension is over, but convincing your Aunt May wont be easy." Tony said followed with a smile.

"Mr. Stark.." Peter said.

"Yeah kid? Tony asked.

"Thanks…for everything." Peter finally said.

"Don't mention it." Tony replied.


End file.
